Cytokine detection by flow cytometry

Abstract

Analysis of intracellular cytokines is extremely important in the clinical treatment of numerous diseases. Flow cytometry (FCM) is a highly effective technique that detects intracellular cytokines using specific fluorescence-labeled antibodies. The common steps of this assay include cell collection, fixation, permea-bilization, blocking, intracellular staining and analysis by FCM. This technique also allows for analyzing the biological function of cytokines. In this chapter, we describe a modified method to detect the specific intracellular cytokine staining using FCM, with an emphasis on the effects of variables including samples, temperature, buffers, data acquisition, and analysis.